Frankie Dupont seems to catch odd-ball cases in the most unlikely places. You would think he would be used to it by now. When his next case lands him on a luxury cruise liner full of devious chocolatiers with ulterior motives, Frankie will be expected to solve the crime, even before it’s committed. Although his mind is certainly up for the challenge, Frankie realises his stomach is yet to find its sea legs.

***** Review *****

The Skinny

The Duponts are celebrating Fankie and his father’s birthdays at Enderby Manor when they open a mysterious package sent by Madame Marie Fontaine with four VIP cruise passenger tickets and four airline tickets for the entire family to come to her aid. The original plan changes change, and Mr. Dupont sets off to Antarctica with Frankie, Kat, Amy and Sherlock. When they arrive, no one is more surprised than Frankie to see Inspector Cluesome sitting on Madame Marie’s couch, let alone the tale they are about to tell of a suspected robbery about to occur. It turns out Madame Marie’s granddaughter also has her own reasons for calling Frankie and his dog to the ship.

Madame Marie Fontaine – a wealthy woman who owns a cruise ship; reaches out to the Duponts for help

Madeline – Madame Marie’s granddaughter; she has a secret reason for wanting Frankie on the case

Vincent– a new employee on the cruise ship

Inspector Cluesome – an inspector from the Dupont’s hometown; involved in several of Frankie’s previous cases

Emmaline Legrand – a notorious thief and chocolatier; suspected of making a soon-to-be hit on the Fontaine family fortune

Hugh Legrand – brother of Emmaline; also a chocolatier

The Quote

“On the contrary, madam.” Cluesome stroked his mustache. ” I personally will vouch for the lad and lasses, and for what you plan for us to undertake, it’ll be a good idea to have some little eyes and ears on the ground.”

The Highs and Lows

+ Plot. What more elaborate scheme to pull off than a high-stakes robbery on none other than a cruise ship? It’s incredibly hard to steal such a delicate item in a highly public and visible situation. And that is exactly what Frankie, his dad, and the investigative crew are there to prevent. Madeline’s story, the reason she has called Frankie, Kat, Amy and Sherlock to the ship, is also intertwined. As Inspector Cluesome and Mr. Dupont investigate the case for Madame Marie Fontaine, Frankie and his team investigate the case for Madeline.

+ Inspector Cluesome. Inspector Cluesome has never been nice to Frankie, and yet he has an about face in this installment. While Madame Marie is dead set against something, Cluesome surprisingly swoops in support of Frankie. Perhaps the man has something to him after all.

+ Sherlock. Sherlock steals the show in this installment. He is all over the place, and might as well be Kat’s lap dog when all is said and done, yet he saves the day!

– Madame Marie Fontaine. The wealthy chocolatier is very blunt, almost to the point of insulting and impolite. The way that she treats Frankie is one thing, and then the way she treats her own graddaughter is an entirely other.

+ Vincent. Vincent, the brand new employee, is a minor character. However, he is very helpful and loyal to Madeline without question. He naturally picks up this role. He covers for her and helps her without expecting or asking anything in return.

+ Frankie. Frankie is in his prime in this installment. His work on Madeline’s case is very heartwarming. Given the limitations they are working with on the cruise ship, it still seems that he is firing on all cylinders and going above and beyond.

+ Madeline. Madeline is incredibly sweet, but a very pressured little girl. She is always doing “schoolwork” and has such a big responsibility on her hands. I don’t blame her for going behind her grandmother’s back.

+ Stakeout! The stakeout cropped up naturally. The girls were talking and something clicked and the stakeout on deck was born. Who doesn’t like stakeouts?

The Take-Away

The plot of this installment was a quite elaborate, much like the first two books in the series. I was instantly drawn in. Who wouldn’t be with a high-stakes heist about to go down? And in such an isolated locale to boot. But it was when Madeline started sharing her case for Frankie and team to investigate that I knew something either amazing or disastrous was going to happen. I liked that Frankie, Kat and Amy were so willing to help Madeline solve her case and all the efforts they put into it. The fact that they were foiled over and over again just made it that much more angsty.

Recommendation – Buy, Borrow or Skip?

If you’re not up for buying, definitely borrow. This is not one you want to skip!

***** About the Author *****

With a background in paediatric nursing, Julie Anne Grasso spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories to entertain them. A science fiction nerd (she even owns a TARDIS), cupcake enthusiast and lover of all things mystery, she lives in Melbourne with her husband Danny and their little girl Giselle. Most days she can be found sipping chai tea and dreaming up wonderful worlds that often involve consumption of cupcakes.

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